As long as you have a strategy in place when it comes to roster construction, making picks in the first few rounds of your fantasy draft shouldn’t be difficult. It’s the middle-to-late rounds when you have to be more creative. You can look at average draft position and see who the top players available are at certain picks, but there are always a few better options lurking further down the list. Identifying those key sleepers could be the difference between winning and losing your fantasy league.
The term “sleeper” has different meanings for different people in the world of fantasy football. Some folks believe it’s simply a player who will outperform his draft position. That would include the likes of Joe Burrow, Damien Harris or Michael Pittman Jr. in 2021. Others believe it’s a relative unknown or once forgotten player who emerges into a useful fantasy option, such as Cordarrelle Patterson or Dalton Schultz.
In my opinion, both of these definitions are true but with a caveat. I don’t see a player as a sleeper if he’s already been a valuable fantasy asset during his career. For example, Matt Ryan, Saquon Barkley and Amari Cooper aren’t “sleepers” to me. (Yes, I’ve seen Barkley and Cooper listed as sleepers). Ryan has been a top-10 fantasy quarterback multiple times, Barkley was once an elite back, and we all know Cooper can produce.
Could these players be labeled as bargains in 2022 fantasy football drafts? Absolutely. But they’re certainly not considered “sleepers” based on my definition of the term. I also consider select rookies to be sleepers, as these players could outperform their draft position and have obviously never produced a fantasy-relevant season in the pros.
With that in mind, here are 10 players to target who could be the best of the best in the fantasy football sleeper class of 2022.
Breakouts | Deep sleepers | Busts
